The Best of Both Worlds (episode)
The Enterprise intercepts a Borg cube heading directly towards Earth. Unable to affect the Borg, Captain Picard is captured and assimilated into the collective. (Season Finale) Summary Teaser :"Captain's Log: Stardate 43989.1. The ''Enterprise has arrived at Jouret IV in response to a distress signal from one of the Federation's outermost colonies." Commander Riker, Data, Worf, and Geordi La Forge file into a transporter room. Worf notifies Riker that there has been no contact from the surface of Jouret IV for over twelve hours, nor any signs of life. Immediately after the away team is beamed down by Transporter Chief Miles O'Brien, the team finds not only that the entire colony of New Providence has been completely destroyed but also that the colony's former town-center is now nothing more than a giant crater. Act One :"''Captain's Log: Stardate 43992.6. Admiral Hanson and Commander Shelby of Starfleet Tactical have arrived to review the disappearance of New Providence Colony. No sign remains of the 900 inhabitants." Hanson explains to Captain Picard, Riker and Shelby that Starfleet is not ready. They knew that the Borg were coming for over a year and thrown every resource they had to counter it. Riker is unsure that the Borg did indeed destroy the colony. Shelby is there to find out for sure, by using what was gathered by the 's first contact with them at System J-25. Hanson gives insight about Shelby that she's taken over Borg tactical analysis six months ago, and gave her lots of breathing room to get things done. Shelby explains that her priorities are to develop any sort of defense strategy, which Riker jokes indicating nothing they have would work. Starfleet has been designing new weapons, but they're still on the drawing board. They expected much more time as the encounter took place over 7,000 light years away. Picard points out that if it is the Borg, they have a source of power far superior than theirs. Shelby eagerly asks to survey the remains of the colony, but Riker schedules an away team mission for dawn. He shows Shelby her quarters and asks the admiral if he would care to play a round of poker, but Hanson politely declines, but points out that Shelby has played a hand or two. Hanson tries to encourage Picard to take her as his first officer and encourage Riker to accept command of the , a transfer of which even Picard was unaware. Hanson points out that Starfleet has offered the captain's chair three times to Riker, and every time, he passes the chair away. He suggests that Picard tell Riker up front that his passing up command is going to hurt his career in the long run. Shelby explains to Riker that she isn't sure what to look for, but the sections on the Enterprise that were damaged by the Borg contained magnetic residue traces, a so-called Borg footprint, as Riker suggests. Shelby hopes that theory sticks and takes initiative by assigning her away team. Riker interjects that he has already assigned the away team and will accompany her. Shelby lets Riker know in no uncertain terms that she wants his job, and is willing to prove to Picard that she is the right candidate, unaware that Riker has no intentions of leaving the Enterprise, but scores a point indicating that she will be the first to know if he decides to leave. Ensign Crusher asks Data if he has another "king in the hole", which shows his inexperience in the game of poker. As the final cards are dealt, La Forge folds in disgust, Crusher picks up a third jack, Shelby picks up nothing of value, and Riker picks up a nine of hearts for a possible straight flush. Crusher is first to act, and hesitates before throwing ten into the pot. Riker wastes no time to pick up on his inexperience and throws an extra hundred into the pot. Data points out that Riker could be bluffing, but Wesley is not sure of himself, and folds the three jacks. Everyone but Shelby and Riker are stunned at his fold. Shelby says she has two pair, but she wants to see his card and calls the raise. Riker at this point flips his hold card, revealing the deuce of spades. Wesley is crushed as Shelby rakes in the pot. Friction mounts between Shelby and Riker as she and Data beam down to the colony an hour prior to the time set by Riker. While there, Shelby and Riker talk about regulations as she should have informed Riker about the change in plans. She reports to Riker that the soil sample she's taken does have the Borg "footprint". The worst-case scenario possible has become reality: The Borg are in Federation space. Act Two Riker informs Captain Picard of the preparations being made on the Enterprise and throughout Starfleet for the Borg invasion. Picard asks what he thinks of Shelby, which Riker admits she knows her stuff, but has not earned his full confidence, noting her initiative, and taking risks. Picard indicates her style as similar to Riker. Then he starts to question why he is still on the Enterprise since he's been offered command of the Melbourne. Riker answers he decided not to take that command at this time, noting that he is needed here on the Enterprise, but Picard orders him to reconsider, noting that Starfleet needs good captains, now. Picard assures him that he is ready to take command of a ship, and notes the Enterprise will still go on just as well. Riker takes his uncertainty to Deanna Troi and asks why is he still on the ship, even admitting that what Picard said about Shelby is correct, and wonders what happened to him. Troi reassures him that he has not lost anything, yet, gained more than he realizes, and asks a question that would make Riker think for a while: "What do you want, Will Riker?" Meanwhile, Shelby and the Enterprise engineering team are having little success in devising new weapons systems to defeat the Borg. Tension between Riker and Shelby continues to rise as he orders the team to "call it a night," against Shelby's wishes, noting La Forge and Wesley's minds have "turned to clay". The next day, Admiral Hanson received word that the had reported contact with a "cube-shaped" vessel. Picard orders to intercept the ship, and Hansen informs that every available starship is en route to assist, but they'll be six days away. Picard says they will try to keep them occupied. The Enterprise moves to intercept. While en route, it encounters the Borg cube. Act Three The crew, especially Data, are not certain if it's the same ship they faced at J-25, or if it's a different one with precisely the same dimensions. The Borg demand that Picard personally surrender to them, which baffles the bridge crew, as Shelby doesn't understand why they want him, but are only after their technology. Picard believes their priorities had apparently changed. He defiantly refuses and threatens to use their new defensive capabilities if the Borg do not withdraw. The Borg responds by trapping the ship in a tractor beam, which drains the shields off the ship. Picard orders Worf to return fire but does no impact on the Borg ship. Picard signals to fire at will, but again does no impact. The Borg unleashes their cutting beam into the hull, causing several casualties and forcing La Forge to evacuate engineering. Thanks to Shelby's quick-witted strategy and technical knowledge, the Enterprise breaks away using random phaser hits and hides out in the sensor-blinding Paulson Nebula to buy time for repairs and strategy. They realize that a certain frequency that is quite effective to the ship's distribution nodes. Wesley points out that the main deflector dish can channel enough energy on that same frequency. Adding to the tension between Shelby and Riker, Shelby suggests separating the saucer section from the ship to give the Borg two targets. Riker rejects her decision, stating that power from the saucer section's impulse engines will be needed for their weapon. Riker goes to Picard to deliver the update on the situation to find Shelby already there, having asked Picard's opinion on her suggestion. While Picard agrees that there isn't the time to consider Shelby's plan completely, it should be used as a fall-back and he tells Shelby to make preparations just in case. Riker and Shelby leave in a turbolift, the latter heading to the Battle Bridge when Riker halts the lift. Fuming about the insubordination, he warns her not to go over his head to the Captain again. She asks for permission to speak freely, and when it is granted she tells Riker that he's in her way and that he should leave the big decisions to her. Act Four As the Borg stand watch at the nebula's perimeter, waiting for the Enterprise to reemerge, Picard tours the ship before the coming battle. In Ten Forward, Guinan wonders why he is up at this time, in which Picard explains the tour, reciting that Admiral Nelson toured the HMS Victory before the Battle of Trafalgar. Guinan points out that Nelson was killed at Trafalgar, but assures the captain that, even in the face of certain destruction, humanity will prevail. At this point the Borg are able to drive the Enterprise out of the nebula, using magnetometric guided charges. Punching the ship up to full speed, the Enterprise speeds out of the nebula with the Borg cube in hot pursuit. Shortly thereafter, the Borg catch up to and board the Enterprise. The first drone who materializes on the bridge is disabled by Worf using his phaser, while a second drone who has adapted to the phaser frequency materializes. Riker tries to physically attack the drone but is quickly tossed aside like a ragdoll, Worf engages the drone but is brought down by a hard shove. A third drone materializes beside Picard, and subdues him. Picard and both drones de-materialize from the bridge, leaving the disabled drone to self destruct. The Borg then release the Enterprise from their tractor beam and warps to their final target, while a disoriented Riker orders pursuit. Worf makes a horrifying discovery as the Borg has set a direct course for Sector 001, the Terran System. Riker knows where the Borg are going: "Earth". On the Borg cube, the Collective inform Picard that he is to become a liaison between the Borg and humanity, to expedite the assimilation of Earth. Picard refuses to go along with their plan and will resist. The Borg tell Picard, "Resistance is futile." With the Enterprise now in pursuit of the Borg cube, La Forge informs Riker that their weapon is almost ready but it will require "serious power" from the warp engines and will require the Enterprise to drop out of warp. Riker intends to lead an away team to retrieve the captain, with Shelby coordinating defense strategies with Starfleet, but Troi objects to his leading the team as he is now in command of the Enterprise and notes that the Federation is in a state of war. Reluctantly, Riker gives command of the team to Shelby. Act Five Shelby's away team beams to the cube and begins to search for Picard. Along the way, they discover distribution nodes that could slow the Borg down. Worf's tricorder picks up Picard's combadge and Beverly Crusher tries to communicate with him, but is unable to. Worf then traces the signal. Riker strongly recommends to Starfleet that they should redeploy their starships to protect Earth. Admiral Hanson states that they will move in and intercept the Borg at Wolf 359 and make their stand there. Riker informs the admiral that they can maintain warp for a little longer, but if they can't maintain it for that long, they'll do as much damage as they can. Hanson asks if there's any progress with Picard's rescue, and Riker shakes his head. The away team find Picard's discarded uniform and communicator, but must now focus on stopping the Borg as the weapon is ready. They are able to destroy several of the nodes and force the Borg cube to drop to impulse for repairs, giving La Forge the time to divert the necessary warp power to the weapon. As several Borg drones move to intercept the away team, Crusher and Worf spot Picard, who has already been assimilated by the Borg. Unable to retrieve him, the team returns to the Enterprise. A somber away team returns to the bridge and Data explains what has happened. Shelby insists that they must return to the cube with retuned phasers, but Riker insists that this is the only chance they have to use the navigational deflector weapon. Confronted with the image of Locutus, Picard's Borg alter-ego, and his plans to destroy the Federation, Riker makes the ultimate decision... Mr. Worf... fire. TO BE CONTINUED... Memorable Quotes "I am Locutus...of Borg. Resistance...is futile. Your life, as it has been...is over. From this time forward...you will service...''us." : - Locutus of Borg, formerly Captain Picard "Mr. Worf, dispatch a subspace message to Admiral Hanson. We have engaged the Borg." : - Picard "Captain, ''you are being hailed." "''I am?" "Yes, Captain, by name." "Data, is it the same ship we faced at J-25?" "Uncertain, Commander, but the dimensions are precisely the same." "On screen! I am Captain Jean-Luc Pica–" "Jean-Luc Picard, Captain of the Starship ''Enterprise - Registry: N-C-C-One-Seven-Zero-One-D. You will lower your shields and prepare to transport yourself aboard our vessel. If you do not co-operate, we will destroy your ship." "''You have committed acts of aggression against the United Federation of Planets! If you do not withdraw immediately–" "You will surrender yourself or we will destroy your ship. Your defensive capabilities are unable to withstand us." : - Worf, Picard, Riker, Data, and the Borg "What the hell do they want with ''you?" "''I thought they weren't interested in human lifeforms, only our technology." "Their priorities seem to have changed." : - Riker, Shelby, and Picard, after the Borg demand that Picard surrender himself "You disagree with me, fine. You need to take it to the Captain, fine; through me. But you do an end around me again, I'll snap you back so hard you'll think you're a First Year Cadet again. Understand me? "''May I speak frankly, Commander.?" "By all means." "You're in my way. "Really? (Unpleasant smile and sarcastic tone) How terrible for you." : - Riker and Shelby "When it comes to this ship and this crew, you're damned right I play it safe." "If you can't make the big decisions, Commander, I suggest you make room for someone who can." : - Riker and Shelby "I wonder if the Emperor Honorius watching the Visigoths coming over the Seventh Hill truly realized that the Roman Empire was about to fall. This is just another page in history, isn't it? Will this be the end of our civilization - a turn of the page?" "This isn't the end." "You say that with remarkable assuredness." "With experience. When the Borg destroyed my world, my people were scattered throughout the universe - we survived, as will humanity survive. As long as there is a handful of you to keep the spirit alive, you will prevail - even if it takes a millennium." : - Picard and Guinan "Captain Jean-Luc Picard, you lead the strongest ship of the Federation fleet. You speak for your people." "I have nothing to say to you. And I will resist you with my last ounce of strength!" "Strength is irrelevant. Resistance is futile. We wish to improve ourselves. We will add your biological and technological distinctiveness to our own. Your culture will adapt to service ours." "Impossible! My culture is based on freedom and self-determination!" "Freedom is irrelevant. Self-determination is irrelevant. You must comply." "We would rather die." "Death is irrelevant. Your archaic cultures are authority driven. To facilitate our introduction into your societies, it has been decided that a human voice will speak for us in all communications. You have been chosen to be that voice." : - The Borg and Picard "Mr. Worf...fire." : - Riker, setting up Part II "Data was available. I took him, we came." : - Shelby "Will...what the hell are you still doing here?" "Sir?" "You've been offered the ''Melbourne." "''I've decided not to pursue that commission at this time." "She's a fine ship, Will." "Yes, but she's not the ''Enterprise." : - '''Picard' and Riker Background Information Story and script * Michael Piller was unsure how this episode's two-parter would end, when he first sat down to write the episode. He began with the need for a season-ending cliff-hanger. (Star Trek: The Next Generation Companion) Naturally, the episode was designed to create anticipation for the return of the series in the following season. (Star Trek: Fan Collective - Borg text commentary) * While the Borg had proven popular after their introduction in the second season episode , the writers had struggled to bring them back, noting the problem of writing for a race with no personality. (Captains' Logs: The Unauthorized Complete Trek Voyages) In fact, Michael Piller himself had tried throughout Star Trek: The Next Generation s third season to devise a new story about the Borg. (Star Trek: The Next Generation Companion) While several of the writing staff suggested creating a "queen bee" to act as a spokesperson, Michael Piller resisted these proposals. He commented, "To me there was something special and frightening about the Borg that their lack of character brought. For a show that dwells and specializes in character to be challenged and possibly challenged by a characterless villain seemed, to me, to be a special kind of threat. But when we started talking about the cliffhanger and the Borg, we really did talk about who was going to be the queen bee." (Captains' Logs: The Unauthorized Complete Trek Voyages) * It was Piller who came up with the notion of Picard being assimilated. In early drafts, however, Data and Picard were combined as one Borg unit. Piller recalled, "Someone said why should they do this, and we didn't have a good answer so we dropped that idea." (Captains' Logs: The Unauthorized Complete Trek Voyages) * However, Piller sought to maintain the human drama in all the spectacle. "We had no idea it was really a Riker story when we started out. I came up with the idea of having the Shelby character come onboard to challenge Riker. That seemed to play into the Riker emotions and the conflict over whether to take the other job or not, and that builds into the issue of whether or not he was big enough to fill the center chair." (Captains' Logs: The Unauthorized Complete Trek Voyages) *Another reason that Piller had for creating the Shelby subplot was to better explore Riker's motivation for staying aboard the Enterprise, as the series' fans had begun to wonder why Riker had - on a couple of times beforehand - turned down command opportunities (despite the real reason for this obviously being that the series' production team did not want to lose Jonathan Frakes from the cast nor the popular character of Riker from the series). (Star Trek: Fan Collective - Borg text commentary) * Piller had intended the season finale to be his last contribution to The Next Generation. His turmoil over leaving the show was reflected in Riker's struggle over leaving the Enterprise for his own command. Piller admitted, "When Riker talked to Troi about 'Why am I still here?' and she's telling him, 'because you're happy,' that was a conversation I had with myself several times during the course of writing that show." (Star Trek: The Next Generation Companion) * The real reason why Doctor Crusher was included in the away team that attempts to retrieve Picard from the Borg was that actress Gates McFadden had mentioned to Piller that she thought it would be fun to fire a phaser, as her character of Dr. Crusher wasn't usually provided with the opportunity for much phaser action during the series. Piller was happy to accommodate the actress' request. (Star Trek: Fan Collective - Borg text commentary) * As the episode's text commentary notes - even though it makes logical sense for a medical officer to go on such a mission (as it does involve rescuing a potentially wounded crew member) - the situation raises the question of why it is necessary for the chief medical officer to risk her life by going on such a dangerous mission. Just before the away team are beamed to the Borg ship, Shelby is even specifically reminded by Riker not to take any unnecessary risks. * The script describes Admiral Hanson as "fifties, high ranking, hard working" and Shelby as "late twenties, very beautiful, energetic, extremely motivated and ambitious." The script also commonly refers to the Borg's distribution node as "conduit boxes" and includes only one reference to the moniker Locutus (specifically, in his dialogue at the end of the episode), otherwise referring to him to as "Picard/Borg." * All the stardates provided in the episode's log entries were changed between the script and the final version, with two supplemental entries in the script (the final two log entries of the episode) ultimately being given stardates instead. * Although the script describes the Paulson Nebula as containing "large rocks and clumpy material." none of this debris is shown in the episode's final version. * The final draft script was submitted on April 6, . Sets, Props & Wardrobe * The surface of Jouret IV was a set built on Paramount Stage 16, its design supervised by production designer Richard James. He used a large painted backdrop to extend the set, adding illusory distant mountains and an artificial sky to the planetscape. The planet's crater was added via the use of a matte painting that was based on a photograph of a meteor crater in Arizona. (Star Trek: Fan Collective - Borg text commentary) * Creation of the Borg designs benefited from lessons learned from "Q Who". David Livingston noted, "The set had been a problem, because we didn't have the money to build a complete one, and the Borg had taken a long time. We made a lot of changes on them after they were first put together. The technical part of figuring out how to stick on all this tubing to these guys was a big deal... When we got to 'Best of Both Worlds,' we knew what the problems were. We knew we had to build a different kind of set and it worked out really well." (Captains' Logs: The Unauthorized Complete Trek Voyages) * The Borg costumes seen in this episode were based on designs that Durinda Rice Wood had created for "Q Who". (Star Trek: Fan Collective - Borg text commentary) * As with the planetscape used for Jouret IV, the Borg interior set was also created by Richard James and built on Stage 16. Having devised the basic look of a Borg ship for "Q Who", James built on those designs for this episode. The Borg interior set, in this case, was built on an area of the stage where the floor could be removed, allowing the production crew to place lights in the basement area so that they could be shone up through the floor grating. (Star Trek: Fan Collective - Borg text commentary) The ceiling of this Borg set featured many round yellow lights that were actually covers from swimming pool filters, two of which had also been influential in the design of an ancient Iconian control building seen on the planet Iconia in the second season TNG episode . (Star Trek: Fan Collective - Borg text commentary, Star Trek Encyclopedia) One of the Borg's distribution nodes would later appear as part of the electronic "guts" inside a wall panel aboard the ''Enterprise'' during Star Trek: Enterprise. (Star Trek: Fan Collective - Borg text commentary) * A reworking of a matte painting by Syd Dutton was used for the interior vista of the Borg cube in this episode, as had previously been done in "Q Who". The illustration was used for both the scene wherein the Borg cube contacts the Enterprise and for the later scene in which Picard, not yet Locutus, is brought to face the Borg ship's interior. For the latter scene, a larger interior vista was created with a bluescreen composite, adding Picard and two drones into the shot. (Star Trek: Fan Collective - Borg text commentary) * The set of Shelby's quarters included a pair of paintings on the room's back wall, designed by Rick Sternbach. (Star Trek: Fan Collective - Borg text commentary) Production * Like its script, the episode itself was produced in April 1990. (Star Trek: Fan Collective - Borg text commentary) * Assistant director Chip Chalmers recalled one memorable moment during filming. "I remember the moment when Patrick, dressed in a Borg outfit, first walks up to the viewscreen and says, 'I am Locutus of Borg.' He came on to the set – everybody was wowed with what they had done to Patrick – and we got everyone settled down and did one rehearsal. All he had to do was walk up to the camera. He did so and towered over everyone. It was just so creepy and so spooky, and he said, 'I am Locutus of Borg. Have you considered buying a Pontiac?' And everyone was on the floor. That's the kind of thing that makes it wonderful to work on the show; those people have a wonderful sense of humor." (Captains' Logs: The Unauthorized Complete Trek Voyages) * Guest star Elizabeth Dennehy noted the difficulty of playing an authority figure on a show she knew nothing about. "I was a commander and the hardest thing in the world to do was making the dialogue sound like I spoke that way all the time. It was impossible. It's so easy to remember and memorize lines when they make logical sense or when you get blocked and you say when I move over here, I say this. But this was just memorizing timetables. It was just 2x2 is 4. I didn't know what a manipulation effect in the Borg ship's subspace meant. That's not English! It was like learning a foreign language by phonetics. It was just grueling and my first day was the hardest of all. It was a scene in the big conference room where I'm talking to them about what the Borg do, and they're like tongue twisters. LeVar and Brent have the hardest stuff to learn. I don't know how they do it... But geez, those lines. I yelled at Michael Piller when I first met him. The day he visited the set I had to say, 'Separate the saucer section, assign a skeleton crew,' and I asked him, 'Can you lay off the alliteration a little, Michael... please.' He laughed. It was hard." (Captains' Logs: The Unauthorized Complete Trek Voyages) * For scenes of Admiral Hanson contacting the Enterprise s senior officers while they are gathered in the observation lounge, footage of actor George Murdock as Hanson was superimposed during post-production. When the senior officers watch footage of the Borg attack against the Enterprise, however, this footage was actually displayed on the screen amid the filming. The differences in these two methods of screen display can be noticed by looking at the observation lounge's table, as the footage that was on the set reflected off the table whereas the superimposed footage obviously didn't. (Star Trek: Fan Collective - Borg text commentary) * On the day when the teaser scene was filmed, the production staff gathered for a group photograph of virtually everyone involved in the making of the series. This was the last crew photograph to feature the inclusion of Gene Roddenberry, prior to his death in . (Star Trek: Fan Collective - Borg text commentary) * A close-up shot of one of the Borg's distribution nodes was filmed by a second unit crew, weeks after principal photography for the third season had ended. (Star Trek: Fan Collective - Borg text commentary) Effects * This episode was one of a mere few that required all-new shots of the Enterprise s exterior to be created, rather than reusing stock footage that had originally been filmed for . (Star Trek: Fan Collective - Borg text commentary) * For two establishing shots (using the same clip) of Admiral Hanson's transport ship flying alongside the Enterprise, recycled footage was used and recomposited with the Enterprise model for this episode; the clip had previously been used in , for which it was utilized to represent the . Although the clip had originally been filmed by Industrial Light & Magic, its new composite was done at The Post Group, overseen by visual effects supervisor Robert Legato. (Star Trek: Fan Collective - Borg text commentary) * Similarly, the images of the Paulson Nebula were recycled images of the Mutara Nebula from . This stock footage was especially enhanced for the episode, by photographing the Enterprise model on a stage that was filled with smoke, helping to create the illusion that the ship was in the cloudy nebula. (Star Trek: Fan Collective - Borg text commentary) * Shots of the Borg cube involved reusing a filming miniature from "Q Who". (Star Trek: Fan Collective - Borg text commentary) Music * This episode is notable for the musical score composed by Ron Jones, as it uses a synthetic chorus to provide a five-note leitmotif for the Borg and a dramatic cliffhanger cue for the ending when Riker chooses to fire on Picard/Locutus. * Ron Jones also happened to have scored the first episode to ever feature the Borg, "Q Who", as well the episode that foreshadowed their threat, . Continuity * "The Best of Both Worlds" was the first two-part episode of Star Trek since and in . ( was later divided into two parts, but was a feature-length episode at first-run.) * This was also the first end-of-season cliffhanger in the history of Star Trek s production. * The Borg would be used to provide end-of-season cliffhangers for Star Trek on three further occasions: , and . They would also appear in the feature-length premiere of DS9 ( ) and the feature-length finale of VOY ( ) and make their big screen debut in Star Trek: First Contact, which loosely continues the storyline from this episode. They would even make a controversial appearance in , which takes place after the events of First Contact and begins a paradox of the Borg threatening the Federation. * This episode marks the first use of the Borg's now-famous line: "Resistance is futile." Another phrase, "strength is irrelevant", also becomes a commonly used Borg phrase with the subject "strength" being replaced in each use (for example: "freedom", "self-determination", "death"). * While the Borg will later prove to have typically unimaginative naming conventions (i.e. Third of Five, Seven of Nine, etc.), the name chosen for Picard's alter-ego is quite appropriate. His function is to speak for the Borg, and "Locutus" is Latin for "he who has spoken." * Though the Borg's first appearance was in "Q Who", this is the first episode in any Star Trek series where the Borg assimilate a person. * This episode also includes the first time that Dr. Crusher personally encounters the Borg, due to her absence in the second season of the series. At one point, the script of this episode specifically states that "Beverly wasn't around for the Borg last year." * Although she is not seen on-screen in this episode, it is established in that the Borg Queen was aboard the cube. * George Murdock (Admiral Hanson) previously appeared in as "God". * This episode is one of only a few, in the entirety of The Next Generation, to show a crew member sitting at one of the pull-out chairs at the bridge's rear stations. In this case, Geordi La Forge can be seen sitting at the Engineering station. * Dr. Crusher likening the Borg to mosquitoes, in this episode, echoes the original idea for the Borg, as they were at first conceived of as a race of insects before this concept was dropped due to budgetary reasons. (Star Trek: The Next Generation Companion) Reception * After the show aired, rumors circulated among fans that Patrick Stewart's contract talks with Paramount had stalled, and that Picard would be killed off, with Riker becoming Captain with Shelby as his first officer. This culminated in an unprecedented level of interest in the next season opener, with Paramount running ads and radio spots specifically for the episode. (Star Trek: The Next Generation Companion) * This episode was featured in the Star Trek: The Next Generation Viewers Choice Marathon. * Entertainment Weekly ranked this episode (combined with Part II) #2 on their list of "The Top 10 Episodes" to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Star Trek: The Next Generation. http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20057754_9,00.html * This episode was nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Achievement in Special Visual Effects. * When asked about the show's enduring popularity, Piller commented, "I think it's because we saw a side of Picard and a side of Riker that we had not seen before, plus of course, the depiction of "an undefeatable" enemy like the Borg. Plus it had a scope because it was a two hour story." Video and DVD releases *Original UK VHS release (two-episode tapes, CIC Video): Volume 37, catalog number VHR 2564, . *As part of the UK VHS collection Star Trek: The Next Generation - Borg Box: *In feature-length form: **As part of the UK VHS release Star Trek: The Next Generation - The Full Length TV Movies: Volume 2, catalog number VHR 4102, **UK collectors' edition VHS: *UK re-release (three-episode tapes, Paramount Home Entertainment): Volume 3.8, catalog number VHR 4751, . *As part of the TNG Season 3 DVD collection. *In feature-length form, as part of the Star Trek: The Next Generation - The Complete TV Movies DVD collection. *As part of the Star Trek: Fan Collective - Borg DVD collection. *As part of The Best of Star Trek: The Next Generation DVD collection. Links and references Starring *Patrick Stewart as Captain Jean-Luc Picard *Jonathan Frakes as Commander William T. Riker Also starring *LeVar Burton as Lieutenant Commander Geordi La Forge *Michael Dorn as Lieutenant Worf *Gates McFadden as Doctor Beverly Crusher *Marina Sirtis as Counselor Deanna Troi *Brent Spiner as Lieutenant Commander Data *Wil Wheaton as Ensign Wesley Crusher Guest stars *Colm Meaney as Miles O'Brien *Elizabeth Dennehy as Commander Shelby *George Murdock as J.P. Hanson *Whoopi Goldberg as Guinan Uncredited co-stars *Carl David Burks as Russell *Dan Koko as stunt double for Jonathan Frakes References Borg; cutting beam; Jouret IV (Jouret system); ''Lalo'', USS; magnetometric-guided charge; ''Melbourne'', USS; Nelson, Horatio; plasma phaser; Sector 001; Sentinel Minor IV; Starbase 157; Starbase 324; ''Victory'', HMS; Zeta Alpha II Sources * Reeves-Stevens, Judith and Garfield, Star Trek: The Next Generation - The Continuing Mission (1997) * Van Hise, James, Trek: The Unauthorized Behind-The-Scenes Story of The Next Generation (1992) |next= }} de:In den Händen der Borg es:The Best of Both Worlds, Part I fr:The Best of Both Worlds, Part I ja:TNG:浮遊機械都市ボーグ・前編 nl:The Best of Both Worlds, Deel I pl:The Best of Both Worlds, część I Best of Both Worlds, Part I, The